Categories of Thought…

Things We’ve Said…

Instagram

Blog Stats

Trends (Others Telling You What to Do)

I have never been a fan of trends. In high school I even stopped wearing orange – which I loved – because it became trendy. I didn’t want to do something just because everyone else was doing it.

Ultimately, I’m a rebel at heart who doesn’t like being told what to do, say, or think. As a “good Christian girl” I never rebelled in the traditional sense, but I’ve found little ways to rebel whenever possible to satisfy that need. 😉

So, when I got this email yesterday I rolled my eyes:

The haircut trends You NEED to know for summer. Yes, because you NEED to know what celebrities think about hair and what you should do with yours.

Why? Why do so many in our culture let someone else dictate what they should do with their hair? What they should wear? Why do you want to be like everyone else?

I know this sounds like a rant, but it isn’t. I promise. I’m just thinking out loud and encouraging you to join in to discuss in the comments!

I simply do not understand why people follow trends set by the fashion industry/celebrities/strangers. In reality, you’re allowing someone else to control you, and your wallet. And all for what? To feel good about yourself? To feel like you “fit in” (even though, honestly, people aren’t thinking that much about what you’re wearing)?

You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

By telling you what you “should” be wearing and doing, the fashion industry is encouraging you to constantly give them your money. They make you think that you always need something new because your current wardrobe is outdated, everyone is judging your lack of trendiness, and therefore your perfectly good clothes are not worth wearing. And that’s why they make millions.

I wear clothes that are totally not trendy, but I don’t care. They are comfortable and in good condition. I buy new things occasionally, but I choose to spend our hard-earned money in other ways. Essentially, I refuse to be told what to do and what to buy, especially by people I don’t even know.

Are you a trend-follower? I’d genuinely love to dialogue about this in order to try to understand your perspective! Let’s discuss!

Thank you, Lesa, for putting a whole new spin on “trends” for me. Although I’m not “trendy,” I never even looked at it this way! I’ve never had the money to be trendy anyway, & quite frankly, I don’t even like some of the things that are all the rage now. I’m perfectly happy wearing my same old pair of Crocs I’ve been wearing for about 5 years, my special “That’s what it’s all about: Saving Souls” t-shirt with a picture of one of my students who passed away from a brain aneurysm the year after I taught him in 1st grade (he would have graduated high school this year), & even older than that is my jeans jacket that I bought in 1993 & took with me on my mission trip to Tanzania. I think the thing we need to remember is that God looks at our hearts, & we need to be more concerned about what He sees & putting on His armor than fitting in with the current trends which will be out of style in the blink of an eye.

I’ve always felt the same. Especially with what people say. And especially what people say on social media. Everyone says the same lines, the same phrases, etc…and they all need to use hashtags. This bothers me more than fashion trends. Why do they need to say the same things as everyyyone else?! Why do you want to sound like everyyyone else?! Lol. I don’t get it! 😀

And strangely enough, earlier today I was in a conversation with friends about the foolishness of some fashion trends amongst men. The one that had us in stitches relates to those men who mistakenly confuse comedy with coolness. Having grown up in S CA during the era that coolness was being defined from those parts, I admitted that even though I wasn’t a fashion chaser, I knew enough to know that coolness is not defined by looking like you have a load in your pants. The only ‘cool’ factor for men wearing their pants below their butt relates to the cool air whipping across their exposed pantless butt cheeks.

Furthermore, none of us thought the resulting waddle-walk associated with such geographically-challenged below-butt pants was ‘cool.’ Only thing we were reminded of was of a toddler with a load in their pants. Definitely. Not. Cool.

We’re a lot alike I think lol. I’m also a “good Christian girl” lol but I detest trends and the idea of being anyone but the me God created me to be. I wear what I want regardless of what’s happening. For me that’s mostly thrifted stuff because I can find things that resonate with me regardless of what’s being sold in the stores.

Good thoughts. You could take this a bit farther… I have been one to buck trends, but more in the entertainment realm? I’m thinking when boy bands were popular and I refused to like the Backstreet Boys because my sister liked them (and the rest of the teenage population!). Or the mass-market movies? I didn’t jump on the Lord of the Rings train until well after the movies had been on DVD. Some of it was rebellion, some of it was disinterest. But I think about the franchises that are making billions because they’ve roped you in. Everyone is watching, waiting, and discussing the movies. To be included, you have to see the movie – full price – in the theaters before anyone *spoils* it for you. It’s still a money game.

Good thoughts. You could take this a bit farther… I have been one to buck trends, but more in the entertainment realm? I’m thinking when boy bands were popular and I refused to like the Backstreet Boys because my sister liked them (and the rest of the teenage population!). Or the mass-market movies? I didn’t jump on the Lord of the Rings train until well after the movies had been on DVD. Some of it was rebellion, some of it was disinterest. But I think about the franchises that are making billions because they’ve roped you in. Everyone is watching, waiting, and discussing the movies. To be included, you have to see the movie – full price – in the theaters before anyone *spoils* it for you. It’s still a money game.

YES! I still haven’t seen Lord of the Rings (well, I was forced to watch one but I fell asleep so… 😉 ) for the same reason. We very rarely go to the theatre because we don’t want to waste money (or time) – we wait until it comes out on Netflix and usually watch it so much later than everyone else because we forget! HAHA. I completely agree with you.